HavanaJournal.com: Cuba Travel

Calendar of legal travel to Cuba tours

Posted July 01, 2010 by publisher in Cuba Travel.
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Rob Sequin | Havana Journal

Here is a long list of OFAC licensed travel service providers who are offering cultural trips to Cuba.

It is legal for Americans to travel to Cuba with any of these organizations but some may have restrictions for participation and there may be a variety of travel, health and safety risks so be sure to research the organization and the itinerary and make sure you are physically and mentally prepared for such a trip.

The Havana Journal is familiar with all of the organizations listed below and they are known to have fine reputations but we do not endorse any particular organization and we do not endorse or condone breaking any US laws in order to travel to Cuba.

Witness for Peace is consulting with Marazul Charters,Inc., a licensed Cuba travel service provider, on a research trip for Professional Educators. EDUCATION IN CUBA: Cuba enjoys universal school enrollment and attendance. It has a 98% adult literacy rate, free and fully funded system from pre-school through university, and a low student to teacher classroom ratio. There is equality of basic educational opportunities, even in rural and urban impoverished areas. More women have access to higher education and are enrolled in ost-secondary institutions in Cuba than in any other nation in the Americas. A 1998 UNESCO assessment of educational achievement in Latin America rated Cuban students far above their peers in the region in math, science, and literacy.

Program highlights include:

Meet Cuban Educators
Meet Cuban Students
Visit Cuban Schools, ranging from Elementary to University
Visit historic Cuban Museums in Havana
Visit the Cuban Rural Community
Experience Cuban Community Cultural Activities
Youth organizations: hear perspectives from members of Cuba’s youth organizations.
Visit the Yucatan of Mexico! While you cannot extend your stay in Cuba you can take advantage of your flight to
Cancun by visiting the surrounding Yucatan region of Mexico full of beautiful beaches and Mayan ancestry.

To qualify for the Professional Educators trip you must be working as a full-time Educator. This can be paid or unpaid and may come from more than one position. The final stipulation for traveling legally to Cuba is that you intend to disseminate the products of your research in some public way when you return to the US. We can help you with this! Note: schools are not in session in July but the delegation will still visit schools and meet with Cuban teachers and students.

8:00am Breakfast at the hotel
10:00am Information meeting at the hotel.
11:00am Meeting with ICAP Official.
12:30pm Lunch El Aljibe
2:00pm Visit the Museum of the Revolution, Callejón de Hamel, Community Project and a walking tour of Old Habana.
5:00pm Optional Jazz or Son Peña at the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists.
Dinner on own. Not included at the hotel.

September 3: Friday

8:00am Breakfast at the hotel
9:00am Dance and music lesson, genres covered include danzon, son, salsa, rueda de casino Optional Lunch
2:30pm Visit Yoruba Society
7:00pm Dinner at the hotel. Included.
8:30pm Show or Discussion about Cuban music and dance with a Representative of the COLMENITA (Cuban National Children’s Theater)

8:00am Breakfast at the hotel
9:00am Dance and music lessons
Optional Lunch on the group´s.
2:30pm Visit with an Environmental organization CUBA SOLAR and discussion about environmental sustainability and Renewable Energy in Cuba
7:00pm Dinner at the hotel. Included.
Evening Optional cultural activities

Early am On your own options – e.g. hike area or bird watch.
9:00am‐11:00am Eco‐excursion: Visit Viñáles Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mogotes, and visit to despalillo.
11:30am Check out time, departure for Matanzas (4 hour drive aprox. ) to hotel Canimao.
Confirmed.
Check in hotel, dinner and evening tour of Matanzas.

September 10: Friday

8:00am Breakfast at the hotel
9:00am Dance and music lessons genres include; spiritual/religious dances of Orishas (e.g. Oshun, Yemaya), Rumba, Guayanco, Abakua (male dances), Chango (lightning dance)
Optional Lunch.
2:30pm Discussion about Santeria, meet with a Santero at an Ile (house of worship) such as the Church of Las Mercedes and overview of the importance of divination.
7:00pm Dinner at the hotel. Included.
Evening Free time for personal exploration.

September 11: Saturday

8:00am Breakfast at the hotel
9:00am Dance and music lessons
Optional Lunch
2:30pm Overview of the importance of Talking Drum in AfroCuban Music with local drummer or group.
Evening Free for local cultural activities

8:00 am Breakfast at the hotel
9:00am Dance and music lessons
Optional Lunch
Afternoon Eco‐excursion to the beach. Discussion about conservation efforts and tourism development in Cuba.
Evening Free for local cultural activities

* Round trip flight Cancun/Havana/Cancun.
* 30 day Cuban visa.
* Double room accommodations in 4 and 5 star hotels with two meals daily.
* Single rooms are available for an additional $475.
* English speaking, tour guide(s) to accompany the group throughout the touring period.
* Transportation by private, air-conditioned motor coach, and program fees.
* Flight to and from Cayo Coco.

This research delegation will investigate Cuba’s current economic and banking system, trading partners, and opportunities for investment in Cuba within the context of the U.S. embargo, and as aspects of the embargo are lifted in the years to come. The delegation is open to professional economists, professors of economy, bankers, business professionals, and related fields.

Program Highlights:

* Scale Model of the City of Havana
* City Tour of Havana and Old Havana with noted architect and urban planner
* Ministry of the Economy
* Ministry of Foreign Trade
* Ministry of Tourism
* Two day visit to provincial city, according to interests of participants
* Optional cultural activities
* Small group meetings according to interest

Qualifying for the trip: All travel to Cuba is regulated by the U.S. government which has an embargo of the Island. In exception to the embargo, full time professionals may travel to Cuba for full time research of an academic nature with a likelihood of dissemination. Full time professionals for this trip would include full time musicians, teachers of music, musicologists and all others for whom research on music in Cuba would find practical application in their professional field.

Morning
Visit to the Almadeo Roldan School of Music
Afternoon
Visit to Guanabacoa and the Guanabacoa Museum (Bola de Nieve, Rita Montaner and Ernesto Lecuoana). Performance by Afro-Cuban folklore group

Evening
Rumba performance at the Casa de la Rumba
Wednesday

Morning
Lecture on the modern city of Cuba

Afternoon
Visit to the Yoruba Association of Cuba. Lecture on Cuban music, Cuban jazz and its African roots

Evening
Performance at Jazz Café

Thursday

Morning
Visit to the Paulita Concepción School of Music

Afternoon
Visit to the Colibri Record House

Evening
Meeting with the Youth in Jazz Association, National Center for Popular Music

CEUs: This is a research trip, including conferences and interviews with experts in Cuban education and site visits.
Participants will receive a certificate of participation. Check with your institution to see if you can receive Continuing Education Units for your participation.

Qualifying for the trip: All travel to Cuba is regulated by the U.S. government which has an embargo of the Island. In exception to the embargo, full time professionals may travel to Cuba for full time research of an academic nature with a likelihood of dissemination. Full time professionals for this trip would include teachers, curriculum specialists, school administrators, professors of education and all others for whom research on education in Cuba would find practical application in their professional field.

Program: Both programs will cover the full range of education in Cuba, as well as an overview of daily Cuban life and a sampling of Cuba’s cultural life and history.

Preliminary Itinerary

August 8 Sunday

9:00 am. Check in to Miami International Airport.
1:00 pm. Depart Arrive Jose Martí International Airport, arriving at about 2:00 pm. Check in at the Hotel and
welcome cocktail. Introductory briefing by the tour leader and an official from the Ministry of Education.
7:30 pm. Dinner at ¨12 Apostoles¨ Restaurant, followed by the 9:00 pm ¨Ceremonia del Cañonazo¨ (for
best viewing, take a cocktail up onto the ramparts overlooking the ceremony).

August 9 Monday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel
10-11am. Specialist presentation ¨Education in Cuba pre and post Revolution¨ by a specialist of the Ministry of Education.
12:30 pm. Meet over lunch at “Casa de la Amistad” with representatives of Cuba’s Pedagogy Association.
3:00 pm. Visit to ¨Museo de la Alfabetización with a presentation on the 1961 literacy campaign that mobilized
100s of Cuban young people to wipe out illiteracy among Cuba’s rural and urban poor. Tour of “Ciudad Libertad”, the former Camp Columbia converted after the Revolution to a “school city” of more than a dozen schools from daycare through high school, several special education schools, and a leading Teacher Training Institute.
Evening. Free. Your Guide will let you know if there are special events going on that might be of interest to you.

August 10 Tuesday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 am. Visit to the Museum of the Cuban Revolution
11:00 am. Walking tour of Old Havana. Visit to a summer youth program of the Office of the Historian of the
City which dedicates time and funds to serving the community as well as to restoring the old colonial structures.
12:30 pm. Lunch in Old Havana at El Mecurio or another restaurant.
3:00 pm. Visit to the Women’s Federation of Cuba for an opportunity to talk about the impact of universal education
and daycare on Cuba’s women; the role of the Federation in mobilizing and involving parents in the schools. Discussion of other Cuban institutions working to bring parents into involvement with the schools.
Evening. Free. Your Guide will let you know if there are special events going on that might be of interest to you.

August 11 Wednesday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 am. Specialist presentation: Primary and Secondary Education in Cuba. Structure of education; curriculum planning,
development and implementation.
11:00 am. Depart for Pinar del Rio. Visit to Las Terrazas, a community that has dedicated itself to art and to preserving the environment.
1:30 pm. Lunch in Las Terrazas.
3:00 pm. Visit educational facilities in the town.
5:00 pm. Drive to Las Jazmines resort. Check in. Time for a swim, followed by dinner.

August 12 Thursday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel
12:00 pm. Depart for Pinar del Rio City. Lunch.
2:00 pm. Visit to the University of Pinar del Rio. Tour of the campus. Meeting with University faculty and administrators for opportunity to discuss higher education in Cuba.
5:00 pm. Return to Havana.

August 13 Friday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel.
9:30 am. Specialist presentation: Special Education in Cuba, kinds of programs both for those with limited abilities and for
gifted students; community outreach and involvement; role of the social worker.
11:00 am. Visit to a special education facility in Punta Brava and meet with director and lead teacher.
1:30 pm. Lunch at El Palenque restaurant.
3:30 pm. Presentation of the “Yo Si Puedo” literacy program developed in Cuba and currently used in a
number of Latin American countries.
Evening. Dinner and show at Tropicana Nightclub.

August 14 Saturday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel.
9:30 am. Visit to the Salvador Allende School of Pedagogy. Presentation on the school’s programs. Open
exchange with faculty and administrators.
1:00 pm. Remainder of the day free.
7:30 pm. Farewell dinner at ¨El Templete¨ restaurant, with senior specialists and directors of the Ministry of Education.
August 15 Sunday

7-8 am. Breakfast at the hotel.
11:00 am. Check out and transfer to airport.
3:00 pm. Depart for Miami, arriving at 4:00 pm.

ALL INDIVIDUALS who are willing to contribute their energy and expertise can qualify for legal travel to Cuba through the Center for Cuban Studies Humanitarian Aid Project: developing nation-wide arts programming for children with Down syndrome.

The first trip will run from July 23rd-30th and will take place in Santiago de Cuba. During your week in Cuba’s vibrant easterly provinces, you will meet renowned artists, develop art workshop teaching techniques, facilitate art-making with children with Down syndrome, and gather information from local community members about existing programs. This trip happens to coincide with Cuba’s most celebrated national holiday around the revolutionary movement initiated on the 26 of July. As the city where it all began, Santiago is the heart and soul of this annual Carnaval celebration. The Santiago Humanitarian trip will also allow for visits to Guantanamo and the beautiful coast of Baracoa.

The second trip will run from August 20th-27th and will include travel through Havana, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad. In addition to meaningful engagement with artists, community figures, and children with special needs, all participants will have opportunities to connect with the people, history, and cultural practices unique to each region.

The PRICE OF THESE TRIPS HAS BEEN REDUCED (does not include travel to Miami)!

For the Santiago trip the total cost is $2,025/double occupancy & $2,195/single occupancy

For the Havana/Cienfuegos/Trinidad trip the total cost is $2,045/double occupancy & $2,245/single occupancy

All interested people should inquire immediately at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to secure their space as trips are filling quickly!

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